WASHINGTON — The 76ers got a rare win at the Capital One Arena, but they lost their best player.
Joel Embiid suffered what the team is calling a game-ending left knee injury in Friday’s 127-101 victory over the Washington Wizards.
The Sixers (26-12) snapped a 10-game head-to-head losing streak against for the Wizards (14-22) in D.C. They had lost 23 of their last 29 games here before Friday.
But that victory turned out to be a footnote.
The main story had to do with Embiid’s health.
The four-time All-Star center landed awkwardly after dunking the ball with 6 minutes, 27 seconds left in the third quarter. His knee bent back, obviously in the wrong direction. It appeared to be a hyperextension. Postgame, coach Doc Rivers said that, to his knowledge, Embiid had not had an X-ray. The team intends for Embiid to undergo testing Saturday in the Philadelphia area.
Embiid was on the court for over a minute as his teammates rushed to his aid. They even asked for a stretcher to come assist him. However, he was able to limp off the court and into the locker room before the stretcher arrived.
Embiid had 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 20 minutes, 24 seconds of action.
This was his first game back after clearing the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol earlier in the day.
He missed Sunday’s All-Star Game and Thursday’s 127-105 road victory over the Chicago Bulls while in the protocol. He had come in contact with a barber who tested positive for COVID-19. Embiid had to quarantine for seven days following the last exposure to the barber.
He returned to play once he received a lab-based PCR negative result on Friday. It was his seventh straight day of testing negative. Ben Simmons also came in contact with the same barber. He will be cleared to rejoin the team Saturday if he continues to test negative.
Prior to Friday’s game, Rivers said the communications with Embiid and Simmons consisted of telling them to “get healthy, stay healthy, stay in condition.” That’s basically all the Sixers could do as players in protocol are forced to self isolate.
“Joel’s here and he hasn’t played in a game, hadn’t had a practice in a week,” Rivers said before the game. “It will be interesting to see how he performs tonight and how we perform with him. Obviously, we are going to throw him out there.
“But I have to be very careful in watching him move and stuff like that.”
For the second straight game, shooting guard Seth Curry moved to point guard, while Matisse Thybulle got the start at the two. Danny Green and Tobias Harris started at their normal forward spots. The only difference from Thursday was that Embiid was back with the team and in the starting lineup.
The game featured the league’s top two scorers, as Washington’s Bradley Beal came in averaging an NBA-best 32.5 points. Embiid was second at 30.2.
Beal had 19 points after being a game-time decision with left knee soreness.
Embiid looked like he was eager to get back on the court after clearing protocol.
He blocked Rui Hachimura’s 4-foot layup 1 minute, 40 seconds into the game. Embiid scored his first basket on a layup 34 seconds later. His second basket came on a nasty two-handed dunk with Russell Westbrook and Mo Wagner defending.
Embiid had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with three rebounds and one block before being subbed out of the game with 3:33 left in the first quarter. He was a plus-14.
The Sixers held a 32-15 lead after one quarter.
Embiid ended up with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go with five rebounds and two blocks in the first half.
It became obvious, early on, that the Wizards wouldn’t be able to stop him on this night. On one first-half play, Embiid scored and was fouled while being triple-teamed. He went on to make the foul shot to give the Sixers a 55-44 lead with 3:28 left in the half. The Sixers went into the locker room up 63-53.
